title: Historic distribution and recent loss of tigers in China.
abstract: Historical records can provide important evidence of changes in distributions of wildlife species. Here we discuss the distribution of the tiger (Panthera tigris Linnaeus, 1758) over the past 2000 years in China based on 2635 historical records. We also compare tiger distributions outlined in these records with ecosystem type maps. Throughout this time period, tigers maintained a broad distribution across 7 biomes (from forests to deserts). However, in recent decades the range has been significantly condensed. Today, only 2 populations remain, neither of which is independently viable. Tigers have completely disappeared from the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of central China, a region that was traditionally their most important biome in China. The continued presence of wild tigers in China is highly dependent on significant conservation measures.
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, China Program, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation ProgramsEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Aili
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, China Program, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation ProgramsEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, China Program, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation ProgramsEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jirong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, China Program, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation ProgramsEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Eric W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, China Program, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation ProgramsEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Joshua R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ginsberg
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, China Program, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaWildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation ProgramsEast China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Endi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D056727:Endangered Species; D011157:Population Dynamics; D046010:Tigers; D013997:Time Factors